Rack.



G. H. MoGREG-OR & A. S. RUDLAND.

RACK.y

APPLIoATIoN HLE'D JAN. so, 1909.

Patented Dec. 7, 1909.

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NTE STARS ATT QE.

GEORGE I-I. IVICGREGOR, 0F NEW GLASGOW', NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA, AND ANDREW S. RUDLAND, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

RACK.

starren Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 7, 1909.

Application filed January 30, 1909. Serial No. 475,254.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, Gnonen H. Mc- GRnGoR and ANDREW S. RUDLAND, both subjects of the King of Great Britain, and residents, respectively, of New Glasgow, in the Province of Nova Scotia and Dominion of Canada, and of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, county and State of New York, have invented a new and 1inproved Rack, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to racks for displaying clothes and other garments, and which can be used as clothes presses or containers, and more particularly to a rack of this kind comprising standards, bars connecting the standards and serving for hanging articles to be displayed or preserved, thereon, a top carrying spring rollers at each side thereof, and curtains depending from the rollers at the outside of the bars, the curtains being arranged to be raised and lowered in the same manner as ordinary window shades.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive and compactly-built rack for displaying and preserving articles such as garments and the like, which can be easily taken apart and packed into a small space, and in which the articles can be protected from dust, moisture and so forth.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the class described, which is light in weight and is easily portable, which can be used for displaying garments and like articles, in stores, ivarerooms and similar places, and which can be employed as a clothes press for keeping and preserving clothes, as in an ordinary closet.

rIhe invention consists in the construction and combination of parts to be more fully described hereinafter and particularly set forth in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views, and in which- Figure-1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of our invention, and having part of one of the curtains broken away;

F10'. 2 is an enlaro'ed transverse section showing a joint of the frame of the device; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section on the line 2%3 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a vertical section of the upper part of the device.

Before proceeding to a more detailed eX- planation of our invention, it should be lclearly understood that while the. same is particularly useful as a display rack and press for clothes, garments and like articles, it can be advantageously employed for exhibiting or preserving other articles. Certain of the parts are fashioned preferably, from steel or other metal tubing, while others of the parts are fashioned from pressed steel, cast iron or the like. None of the joints are threaded, so that it is uniiecessary, laboriously to screw the parts together and apart, in assembling or dismountiiig the device, as will appear more clearly hereiiiafter. The rollers which control the curtains are of the type usually employed for window shades, so that the curtains can be automatically raised when desired. The curtains may consist of any suitable fabric, preferably a dust and inoisture-proof one, so that they can be pulled down at each side of the articles upon the rack to protect the same. As the device can be taken apart, it can be employed by traveling salesmen and others, and can be easily carried from place to place, as it can be packed in a small compass.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, we provide a pair of spaced standards 10, each consisting of uprights 1l fashioned from tubing and having the lower end outwardly offsetto forni supporting legs 12. Each of these supporting legs has a roller or caster 13 so that the device when assembled, can be easily moved about on the floor. The upper ends 14 of the uprights are outwardly disposed. The upiights of each standard are connected by clamp braces 15, each formed from a strip of metal or other material doubled upon itself and having at the opposite sides off-set concave parts 16, which at one end form a loop, and which embrace the upriglits. Each of the lower braces has its sides clamped together by a bolt 17 having a butter-fly nut 18, so that it can be easily manipulated. rlhe upper braces 15 have positioned therebetween a hollow cross bar 19, the ends of which fit into the sockets 2O carried at the inside of the upper braces and preferably fashioned integral therewith. A rod 21 is arranged within the hollow bar and has threaded extensions 22l prodk jecting through suitable openings of the yclamp braces, and butter-Hy nuts 23 mounted upon the extensions serve to hold the bar and the rod in place, and at the same time to clamp the parts of the upper braces together. At the outwardly disposed upper end 14 of each of the uprights is positioned a joint member 24 consisting preferably of a hollow globular body 25 having sleeve or socket extensions 26 and 27 at right angles with each other. The ends 14 of the uprights are inserted in the sockets 26, while side bars 23 are inserted in the sockets 27, and thus connect the uprights. These side bars serve to support the articles to be displayed; for example, garments can be hung therefrom by means of the usual garment or clothes hangers. Bolts 29 are inserted through suitable openings of the bodies25 and pass through corresponding registering openings in the ends of the side bars. Butter-fly nuts 30 lock the bolts in place and thus serve to hold the side bars against displacement.

The sockets 26 have upwardly disposed flanges 31 against which rest the ends of the frames 32, the latter having corresponding upwardly disposed flanges 33 at the extremities. The flanges 3l and 33 are connected by screws or bolts 34 or by any other suitable means. The frames 32 are of inverted U-form and have the sides outwardly and downwardly curved. They carry a top 35 held in place by screws or bolts 3G and fashioned from sheet metal or the like. At the edges, the top has upwardly and outwardly curved or concave parts 37 under which are arranged the curtain rollers 3S. The latter are mounted upon suitable brackets 39 carried upon the sides of the frames. Curtains 40 are adjustably secured to the rollers and are arranged to depend at the `outside of the bars 28. The curtains preferably have weighting strips or bars 40L and 53 at the lower ends, which tend to hold the curtains when the same are drawn downward, against drafts and the like.

Hangers 41 are arranged under the frames 32 and are fashioned from strip metal or the like, doubled upon itself and having the ends 42 outwardly disposed and secured to the sides of the frames by means of screws 'or bolts 43. The strips fastening the hang- 'ers are held together by screws or bolts 44 and forni loops 45 adapted to receive the respective ends of an upper cross bar 4G. Straps 47 doubled upon themselves to form loops 48 are held together by screws or bolts 49 and join the upper cross bar 46 and the hollow or lower cross bar 19. The center' strap has the upper parts 50 outwardly disposed and bent at the ends to receive the slide bars to form supports for the same.

The parts 50 have a cross piece 51 connecting the saine and secured thereto by screws or bolts 52.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. In a device of the class described, standards having bars adapted to support articles to be displayed, said standards comprising spaced uprights, clamp braces connecting said uprights and each comprising a strip doubled upon itself and offset to embrace said uprights, each brace having a socket, a cross-bar having the ends located in said sockets, and means for securing said ends in place, whereby said brackets are clamped in position.

2. In a device of the class described, a joint comprising a hollow member having sockets, said hollow member having openings therethrough, members having ends located in said sockets and provided with openings therethrough, and a bolt extending through said openings of said hollow member and lof said other members.

3. In a device of the class described, a joint comprising a hollow member having oppositely extending sockets, said sockets being formed removably to receive the ends of members to be jointed, said hollow member having openings therethrough adapted to receive a bolt, and a bolt within said openings and adapted to pass through openings of one of said members to be jointed.

4. In a device of the class described, standards comprising spaced uprights, clamp braces connecting said uprights, a lower cross bar mounted between certain of said braces, frames carried at the upper ends of said uprights and connecting said uprights of each of said standards, hangers mounted upon said frames, an upper cross bar connecting said hangers, connections between said upper cross bar and said lower cross bar, side bars mounted between the upper ends 'of opposite uprights and serving to ksupport articles to be displayed, a top upon said frames, and curtains depending from said top at the outside of said side bars.

5. In a'device of the class described, standards comprising spaced uprights, clamp braces connecting said uprights, certain of said braces having sockets, a lower cross bar removably mounted in said sockets, frames carried at the upper ends of said uprights and connecting said uprights of each of said standards, hangers mounted upon said frames and depending therefrom, an upper cross bar carried by said hangers, connecting strips between said upper cross bar and said lower cross bar, side bars removably mounted between the upper ends of opposite uprights and serving to support articles to be displayed, a top carried by said frame and having the opposite edges outwardly disposed, rollers carried by said frames under said edges of said top, and curtains supported by said rollers and adapted to be raised and lowered.

6. In a device of the class described, standards comprising spaced uprights having the upper ends outwardly disposed, clamp braces connecting the uprights of each of said standards, certain of said opposite braces having sockets, a lower cross bar removably mounted in said sockets, frames removably carried at the upper ends of said uprights of each of said standards, hangers depending from said frames, side bars between said opposite uprights, joints removably connecting said side bars and said uprights, an upper cross bar removably mounted between said hangers, strips connecting said upper cross bar and said lower cross bar, one of said strips having outwardly disposed arms engaging said side bars intermediate the ends thereof, a top inounted upon said frames and having the edges outwardly disposed and concave, rollers carried by said frames under said edges of said top, and curtains carried by said rollers and adapted to be raised and lowered.

In testimony whereof we have signed 4our naines to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE H. MCGREGOR. ANDREV S. RUDLAND. Witnesses ALEXANDER D. GILLIS, CHAs. A. MITCHELL. 

